Phish

[wcswimmer712]

Is anyone else here a Phish appreciator? Or enjoys jam

 

bands of any sort? All of my friends think Phish sucks and

 

that they are dull, lame, etc. But I think Phish are awesome

 

, anyone else?

[brettac1]

I like the Dead.

 

I think Phish is not so good, though. I think they fit the stereotype of jam bands that I had before I started to appreciate the Dead - meaning sloppy stoners. Then I fell in love with the amazing musicianship of Jerry Garcia in particular.

 

I've listened to a few Phish tapes that are considered to be among their best live shows, and I don't feel it. I know that it's unfair to compare them to the Dead, of course.

[aracko]

Used to love Phish till they played it on the radio once. Never listened to them again after that. Its funny - I think there were others who felt like I did cause they stopped playing it on the radio.

[Roscoe Chill]

I hate Phish. I know they can jam, and are talented, but they have about zero soul if that makes any sense.

 

The Dead and The Allman Brothers blow Phish away.l

[SeriesFinale]

I gotta disagree...I'm really not into jam bands but I saw the Dead twice and Phish three times (I know, I know). Phish was by far the tighter, more melodic outfit. Of course, I saw the Dead in the early 90s when Garcia was nearing the end.

[brettac1]

Yeah, I was talking '70's, peak-era Dead. I refuse to even listen to anything later than '79 shows. I don't want to hear smacked out Jerry, really. I'm fine with tripping balls Jerry, but that's as far as I take it.

 

And with Pigpen. "Lovelight" and "Hard to Handle" - that's what I'm talkin' about.

 

I was basically trying to say what NDOG said - I just didn't feel the soul. I really thought it was too light, not focused enough. Plus, they didn't write lyrics like Robert Hunter or John Barlow did.

[Roscoe Chill]

I saw the last two Dead shows at Soldier Field, the first night sucked ass. The (what turned out to be) final show was incredible.

[TheCrew07]

haters! http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif I like Phish, but it seems they get more credit than they deserve at times.

 

I love OAR though, I bet I listen to A Crazy Game of Poker at least once a day on average.

[Schlitz001]

I used to be a huge Phish fan, but my fandom faded away along with the band. I really enjoyed going to their live shows. If you are comparing the Dead to Phish than you are bound to be disapointed. They are two completely different bands and it's not fair to either of them.

 

I refuse to even listen to anything later than '79 shows

 

You are making a big mistake my friend. There are plenty of good shows from the 80's.

[twobrewers]

Quote:

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Is anyone else here a Phish appreciator?

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Are you an undercover cop trying to ferret out who all the pot heads are?

 

I have NEVER met someone who liked Phish who wasn't using some sort of recreational drug.

 

They are like the second step after going through the "Pink Floyd is amazing" stage.

 

I can't stand Phish.

[greeg35]

I started listening to Phish in highschool, but started loving them after my roommate in college turned me on to them (he is Trey Anastasio's step brother).

 

Phish is tough to get a handle on. Their live shows are extremely hit or miss (usually depending on how drunk they are). I also think they are better indoors (I've seen them once in each) probably due to the "tighter" acoustics. Their studio work definitely lacks soul, and their live music can definitely be too loose.

 

However, when they are/were on and exploring their boundaries in very structured ways, their music could be amazing. They went at it like scientists and it shows in what they produced. Their stuff is meant to be actively listened to rather than the background music it usually is used as.

The music (when right) stimulates the mind more than the heart or the soul for sure.

[mark brouhard is number on]

never really got into phish, although i tried numerous times. there are a couple songs I don't mind of theirs, but i'll take widespread, the dead, or allman brothers any day of the week.

[nsimps]

I like Phish. I think thier musicianship is extremely good on some songs. I especially like some of the piano compositions. My fandom peaked with Picture of Nectar and then fell from there, but I still like to listen to thier cds on long car trips or just to relax.

[samwise]

Phish is cool, I am not a huge fan though. I am a pretty big GD fan but I my favorite band in the world is Umphreys Mcgee.

[homer]

I really appreciated the musicianship of the band members but I cannot stand most of the fans (or is it phans?). I went to a show at Alpine Valley and it seemed like one big contest to see who could appear more forelorn and poor. People selling veggie wraps, bead necklaces, and all things hemp while simultaneously wearing designer underwear and leaving the parking lot in daddy's Volvo. I see some of the same with Dave Matthews. It's almost like a certain segment of the population has to find some jam band to latch onto and follow around. Once the Dead broke up it became Phish once Phish broke up it became Dave. /rant

 

Back on topic. I'm more or less indifferent on Phish - liked a few songs (Fee for example) but on the whole it wasn't my thing. Trey is an amazing guitar player though - saw him on Austin City Limits once and he ruled.

[brettac1]

People selling veggie wraps, bead necklaces, and all things hemp while simultaneously wearing designer underwear and leaving the parking lot in daddy's Volvo.

 

Really, I would say this started with the Dead and a little thing called "Touch of Grey". Suddenly, the "jam band" thing was commercial and profitable, and then you had yuppie college students and trust fund babies posing as being heads ("touch heads"). When Jerry died, they just went onto Phish. There were several long-time Deadheads that did the same, though, and I wouldn't knock anyone for doing that.

[HighLifeandPeanuts]

The new Page McConnell album is pretty good actually, if any of you care.

[jas33jas]

If you like jam bands, check out Umphrey's McGee. They are incredible.

[brettac1]

I dig Robert Randolph and the Family Band quite a bit, too. Can't get enough of that sacred steel.

[gobrew23]

I absolutely love Phish. I've seen them over 25 times live, and have over 100 live cd's. I used to skip out of class in high school and college to see there shows...and then followed them around during the summer.

 

EDIT: If anyone wants to see a great Milwaukee area band (jam band / bluegrass influenced), check out Stealin' Strings. They're playing out in Colorado right now, but have a number of shows around this area coming up soon. www.stealinstrings.com

[wcswimmer712]

Two Brewers, I listen to and enjoy Phish without the use of any drugs.

 

If you like Umphrey's McGee, you should check out moe.

[SenatorShriv]

I listen to a few different "jam bands" (Yonder, Keller, Moe, etc...) but never really got into Phish... until recently. I've started to appreciate all of their stuff a lot more once I got into their studio albums. They didn't always carry the energy into the studio, but they were writting really good tunes (for the most part.) I still get annoyed at least once or twice during almost all of their shows for playing some insanely long unstructured jam that looses any sense of togetherness that they had in their shorter solos and jams.

 

I would say that I appreciate Phish way more today then I did when they were still touring.

 

You can hate the scene if you want (and I do get really annoyed with it) but to say that you have to be a stoner to enjoy Phish is just bunk.

 

Fishman was / is a great drummer

Mike Gordon was / is a sick bass player

Trey (is a pompous ass) but is a slick guitar player with a voice that fit their sound

Page had his moments

 

Their overall energy is what helped set them apart and develop such a loyal following.

[rwa12]

Saw both an indoor and outdoor Phish show, enjoyed them live, but don't really enjoy listening to their CDs/boots. I wound up really getting into Widespread Panic, and still listen to their CDs on occasion.

[TerraceReserved]

"I love OAR though, I bet I listen to A Crazy Game of Poker at least once a day on average."

 

Not to get to off-topic here, but I'm going to have to disagree with you here. As far as sheer musical ability and songwriting goes, Phish completely blows Oar away. Phish's music is diverse and they can play several different styles. Oar's music is all incredibly similar. I play the bass, and was and can figure out pretty much any bass line of any Oar song in 2 minutes. I could never do that for Phish. Plus, they use the exact same rythms for an astounding number of songs. Phish's jamming is about 20 times better too.

 

Now, back on just Phish, I think they are a very good band that is stacked with talent ......... But I've never gotten really into them the way I have with other jams bands.

[twobrewers]

Quote:

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Two Brewers, I listen to and enjoy Phish without the use of any drugs.

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I will have to meet you sometime then. You might be the worlds only!

 

(Ok, so many I am over stating a little. But I stand by my general theme.)